Celluloid Power [Hardcover]

David Platt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0810824426 | ISBN-13: 978-0810824423

In this unique anthology of social criticism, David Platt reprints the insightful contributions of more than fifty screenwriters, directors, producers, historians, and critics--men and women, radical and liberal, including not a few former political prisoners, deportees, and exiles--on diverse films from the earliest years of the film industry through the 1970s. Documentary films are included, and close attention is paid to nationalities and minorities. Among the contributors are Maxim Gorky, David Platt, Anthony Slide, Lewis Milestone, Jay Leyda, Kevin Brownlow, Harry Alan Potamkin, S.M. Einstein, Lewis Jacobs, Leo Seltzer, Albert Maltz, Ring Lardner, Jr., Jean Renoir, Abraham Polonsky, Lorraine Hansberry, Gale Sondergaard, Dalton Trumbo, Arthur Knight, and many others.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This tribute to the primal magic and incendiarism of screen images is dedicated to those blacklisted in the McCarthy era, reminding us that our cineplex entertainments descend from films with the creative power to make governments sweat. Many of the films touched upon are now recognized as great but have had to survive "the cold stab of the censor" or even the persecution or imprisonment of their makers. As a celebration of artistic and intellectual aspiration in the face of perennial injustice, this book deserves a place in all serious film book collections.
- Brian Geary, West Seneca, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

In addition to pieces by neglected critics he has also included firsthand accounts by filmmakers and distributors....Equally important is his rescue from obscurity of essays with a social, if not specifically political angle....Recommended... (Choice )

A scholarly and important collection... (Film Review Annual )

As a celebration of artistic and intellectual aspiration in the face of perennial injustice, this book deserves a place in all serious film book collections. (Library Journal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 652 pages
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press (October 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810824426
• ISBN-13: 978-0810824423
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,108,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)